1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a profile server for providing a color profile in accordance with a request, and a profile retrieval apparatus for retrieving a color profile.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hitherto, computerization and digitalization advance in a printing field too. For example, in the event that a printed matter of a color image is produced, image data is generated in such a matter that the color image is read by a color scanner to obtain image data (CMY data) representative of three colors of, for example, cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y), and color images represented by the obtained image data are edited on a display screen, so that image data representative of the edited color image is created. The image data thus created are created in form of image data (CMYK data) representative of four colors of, for example, cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), and black (K). Machine plates, which carry halftone dot images for those four colors, respectively, are created in accordance with the image data. The machine plates thus created are mounted on a printing machine so that the halftone dot images of CMYK four colors are printed in such a manner that those halftone dot images are superposed on one another. Thus, there is produced a printed matter of the color image consisting of those halftone dot images.
It is general that the Design Company and the publishers perform editing of the color image, and the printing company performs printing. In the event that the Design Company and the publishers are long way off from the printing company, it is the conventional way that image data is stored in MO (magneto-optical disk) and the like and is sent from the Design Company and the publishers to the printing company.
On the other hand, recently, a communication technology in a communication network represented by the Internet and the like advances and it is often performed that image data representative of an image obtained through photography by a digital still camera is transferred via the communication network. Thus, in future, there is expected a printing system in which image data for printing is transmitted and received via a communication network between a plurality of printing companies and printing offices, and the Design Companies and the publishers. The printing companies and printing offices, which join such a printing system, are referred to as a “printing site”. According to such a printing system, the Design Companies and the publishers can choose various printing sites in accordance with a sort of printed matters and an area in which printed matters are distributed, and thus it is convenient.
There are various sorts in printing machines and inks used in such a plurality of printing sites. For this reason, it is known that a color of a printed matter corresponding to one CMYK data, for example, (C, M, Y, K)=(50, 50, 50, 50) varies in accordance with a machine type of a printing machine and a sot of an ink. Accordingly, in order to reproduce on a printed matter a color of a color image taken in by a certain scanner and a color of a color image edited on a certain display, it is necessary to convert the image data in accordance with a machine type of a printing machine and a sort of an ink. Such a conversion is conventionally performed when a color of an image read by a scanner is reproduced on a display. When such a conversion is performed, there is used a color profile in which an association between a color of an image (here a color of a printed matter) and image data is expressed by an LUT (Look Up Table) form.
Such a profile is utilized not only when image data is converted in the printing site and the like, but also when an original reading by a scanner and an image editing on a display are performed in the Design Company and the publishers. For this reason, it is desired for the above-mentioned printing system in which a plurality of printing sites joins that color profiles associated with the printing sites are put together and there is incorporated thereinto a profile server for providing the color profiles are provided via a communication network.
According to the printing system into which the profile server is incorporated, design companies and publishers choose a printing site to obtain a color profile of the printing site and perform original reading and image editing in accordance with the color profile. Image data representative of edited image is transferred to the printing site to print an image. Thus, it is possible to reproduce on a printed matter a color image of a color, which the design companies and the publishers wish.
By the way, in a field of printing, there is a high level of requirement for colors as compared with other fields using color images and it often happens that the design companies and the publishers pursue a subtle nuance of colors of a color image in a printed matter. On the other hand, according to the color reproduction by the color profile, it is ensured that a desired color is reproduced making no great difference, but regarding the subtle nuance of colors it is not ensured.
Thus, when design companies and publishers choose a printing site in the printing system into which the above-mentioned profile server is incorporated, it is surmised that there is needed such a complicated procedure that various color profiles associated with various printing sites are obtained, a color image on a printed matter is reproduced by a display and a printer in accordance with the various color profiles, and a desired printing site is chosen upon referring to the reproduced color image.
For this reason, it is desired that the profile server, who is incorporated into the above-mentioned printing system, has a function of providing via a communication network information to select a desired printing site. The user uses such a function to choose the printing site on the printing system.